Big Loss

02.15.14

VW Workers Vote Down Union

Bloomberg/Getty,Bloomberg

In what is being called a major defeat for labor in the South, workers at a Volkswagen plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee, voted 712-626 Friday night against joining the United Auto Workers union. The loss, which came even though Volkswagen did not oppose the unionization effort, is expected to slow the UAW's plans to unionize other auto factories in southern states. The vote brought accusations of meddling by conservative politicians, including Gov. Bill Haslam and Sen. Bob Corker, who both made dramatic arguments against the union, claiming it would hurt Tennessee's business climate.